Music from the Motion Picture

Wednesday, 28 November 2012

With the second series of the critically acclaimed Homeland nearing it’s close on Channel
4, I thought I would take a moment to voice my views on it.

The show revolves around Agent Brody, an ex US marine
(played by the charismatic Damian Lewis) and Carrie Mathison (played by Claire
Danes). Carrie believes that Brody, who was held captive by al-Qaeda was turned
and poses a threat to the US.

(In order to prevent any spoilers here I will steer clear of
going further into the plot.)

The first series, which was highly popular, received rave
reviews (I remember one saying it was ‘near flawless’) and multiple awards. I
can’t help but agree. I was completely hooked after the first episode. Full of
nail biting moments, I spent the majority of the time watching it on the edge
of my seat.

It seemed, therefore that the second series had a lot to
live up to, and, I think that it largely has.

The first few episodes were a little bit wobbly (the CIA Skype
call being a low). However it has since picked up and yet again I am enthralled
by every episode. It’s clever without being pretentious (hum hum... TheNewsroom…) and it helps that the cast all give strong performances.

I have to say that Danes in particular is fantastic. As the
viewer I am constantly questioning her decisions, motivations and whether we
should actually trust her.

I’ve been telling everyone I know ‘you must watch this show’
and I really really think you should….

Tuesday, 13 November 2012

This weekend I went to see a screening of The Rocky Horror
Picture Show at the Prince Charles Theatre in Soho.

As a novice to Rocky Horror (I only saw it for the first
time last year), I was not particularly excited to see it again. The only thing
spurring me on was that it was a friend’s birthday celebration.

However when I got there, all dressed up as Magenta (French
Maid accessories and all) I couldn’t help but get in the spirit of it.

Patricia Quinn as Magenta

At the beginning of the show everyone in the audience was
provided with props, including a newspaper, a Kleenex and ‘Janet’ and ‘Brad’
cards. These were used at certain iconic moments of the film, e.g. the newspaper was used to shield our heads as Brad and Janet did the same thing in the film.

This is the thing with cult films. They are not necessarily incredibly popular, but those who love the film really LOVE the film. Like an American couple behind me who were shouting out hilarious one-liners throughout the
screening.

Although I don’t think The Rocky Horror Picture Show will
make it into my top films the experience was so much fun.

Let's Do the Timewarp Again...

I will be going back
to the Prince Charles theatre, as they have quote-a-long screenings of other
cult films, including Mean Girls and Anchorman. They also show the
hilariously awful The Room, which I definitely
will be going to.

Tuesday, 30 October 2012

Now I am in no way a Bond expert. As part of the Brosnan
generation, I have grown up with the 007 franchise being full of action and a
lot of cheese.

However that doesn’t mean that I don’t get excited when a
new film comes out. It’s like a national event when it comes around you just
cannot escape the adverts that plaster the cities.

So last night I got the chance to go see Skyfall and I can
say I was not disappointed.

When the credits started rolling I got Goosebumps, I love
Adele’s song and teamed up with some beautiful shots this was the perfect way
to start the film.

Not only did the film provide a lot of topless Daniel Craig
scenes (thank you), but also an excellent villain in Javier Bardem – who is perfectly
psychotic and dangerous.

I’ve read reviews that this bond is back to it’s best, and I
have to agree. It is definitely the best film I have seen from Brosnan onwards, maybe even ever.

I was a bit unsure around halfway through the movie as to
whether it would be able to turn itself around. A low point being a
particularly bad one liner that in my opinion should have been completely cut from the
film.

I have to say that I find that Daniel Craig does not lend
himself well to comedy, for me he seems to be a more serious Bond. So when he
delivers the comic lines I cannot help but feel that it slightly mismatches his
Bond- style.

In fact the whole film seemed to have a bit of an identity
crisis. There were points where I questioned whether it was Bond film or not
and the plot seemed to be a bit fragmented.

However the final part of the film (don’t worry no spoilers
here) was so beautifully shot (thanks to the brilliant cinematographer Roger
Deakins) and epic that it meant that I could forgive the occasional trip ups.

I would definitely recommended going to see this, not only
for the Craig but also for some great shots that had me mouthing ‘oh God this
is so cool.’